The palace gardens are on the southern slopes of the hill on which the
Prague Castle complex is built. It consist of five historic gardens: the Ledebour
Garden , the Great Palffy Garden , the Small
Palffy Garden, the Kolowrat Garden and the Small
Furstenberg Garden . These five gardens make up a one of most
significant Baroque garden works in Europe. Years of neglect resulted in the
closing of the gardens in the 70s. Then in 1989 the State Preservation
Institute stepped in began reconstruction of the gardens. The reconstruction of
Wallenstein was paid for by governmental funds. Vaclav Havel and His
Royal Highness the Prince of made significant contributions to the project
via the Prague Heritage Fund. The first phase involved reconstruction
of the Ledebour and Small Palffy Gardens. They were opened to the public
in June 1995. The second phase - finishing in August 2000 - covers the three
remaining gardens (the Great Palffy Garden was opened in 1997).
Vineyards and gardens are documented as early as 1454 in the location of the
Small and Great Palffy Gardens . An engraving from 1685 depicts a
large, terrace-like Renaissance-Italian garden at this location. Today's design
- or rather the architectural concept of what has been preserved - goes back to
1751. It is the result of a reconstruction carried out by the aristocratic
Fürstenberk family. Despite several reconstructions that followed, the original
Baroque design remained preserved; namely, the terrace-like setting, the axis
location of the central stairs, the alteration of vacant and planted sections
and many remarkable architectural motifs, including many well-preserved relics
of art decoration, etc. Unlike other decorative and entertainment gardens, the
Kolowrat Garden has a four-purpose character. Its concept is much
more modest and far less demonstrative. Also, where the Small Furstenberg
Garden is located, there used to be a vineyard and a utility
garden in 1517. However, a decorative garden was found here in 1580. In 1784,
Lady Marie Barbora Cerninova applied a highly-demanding concept of a Baroque
garden, designed according to Italian models by architect Ignatius Palliardi.
The Prague palace gardens are linked and are accessible from both the
Wallenstein street and the Prague Castle garden called "Na Valech". They offer
their visitors relaxation, pleasant strolls in a cultivated environment and
unforgettable views of the capital.
Ledebour Garden is a Baroque, terrace garden from the first
third of the 18th century, in about 1787, styled most probably by I. J.
Palliardi. In between the salla terrena and the opposite side wall, flat with
the stairgase and the fountain with the statue of a giant, a parter with a
recently built basin.
|
